Come visit with us in St. Martin's parlor!

Prime Timers, a St. Martin's Adult Christian Education (A.C.E.) group, also known as an ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship), is for people in the Prime of Life, ages 50-64. We meet in the Parlor near the Church Offices each Sunday from 10:15am to 11:00. We are following a course of study from the United Council of Churches titled The New Testament Community. You are invited to join us as we explore  d "Human Commitment" with readings from the Old Testament.

The Prime Timers Celebrate Chinese New Year!

 

This fellow joined the Prime Timers for dinner at Vietopia, celebrating the Chinese New Year, the year of the Ox. 

 

Lee and Oakley are surprised!

 

Marty, Anne, Elizabeth and George about to be eaten by a scary dragon! Well, maybe not. Many thanks to Maurice Bass for taking the photos above!

Each month the Prime Timers get together for dinner at an area restaurant. This month was special, celebrating Chinese New Year at Vietopia restaurant. Even though we don't have any Chinese members so far we all had a great time.

Prime Timers Celebrate Good News!

We celebrate our members Good News at Prime Timers with a $1 contribution to Henny Penny, our Good News chicken. Periodically Henny donates the money she collects to a worthy charity, currently the Amistad Mission in Bolivia. Today Jim brought the good news that he has a new grandson. It was our teacher Donn's birthday, although he was out of town today. Lynn told us about her trip to Germany and the Czech republic, once thirty years ago and second a couple weeks ago! Its too long to relate the whole story here but Lynn visited a town of her ancestors and checked up on a third grade teacher she met on the first trip!

A Shunammite Woman Helps

Carol Hartland guided the class today with our series from the Old Testament about commitments. She began with this from Luke 6:32-36:

 ³²"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. ³³And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

As Carol explained, our series on commitment started out with the big picture on commitment, with the new community described by Matthew, the coming of our Lord. Then we got to the specifics of community in the Acts of the Apostles. The last month our journey took us through the Old Testament with the story of Rahab helping Israel, Joshua leading Israel and Samson's Mother preparing for his birth. Carol remarked that Samson led quite a life apart from bringing down the pillars on himself and the Philistines! It all starts with his birth in Judges 13! Now, however, we are getting down to human, and personal commitments with the story of the Shunammite woman who makes a place to stay for Elisha without expecting anything in return.

Carol asked the class to recall other Biblical figures who acted selflessly and Abraham was mentioned. The story of Esther saving the Jews (book of Esther), Abigail and Kind David (1 Samuel 25), Hannah the mother of Samuel and the Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10) and Ruth (Book of Ruth) the Great-Grandmother of King David himself.

Then Carol asked about our commitments. We all agreed that doing volunteer work is rewarding for itself, giving back to the community. Yellowstone Academy was mentioned as a successful venture bringing poor children a solid education and a way out of poverty. Lynn mentioned how missionaries are not paid. Her daughter is doing missionary work in Budapest, Hungary and had to raise $10,000 in order to do it! Someone mentioned the movie "Pay it Forward" where Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) comes up with an idea to change the world!

St. Martin's Church has lots of opportunities to "Pay it Forward" with outreach projects. There is lots going on in February. Check it out by clicking on "opportunities!"

Carol concluded class with a short benediction, from  Luke 1:38:  Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.

The Lesson for Sunday, February 8th,  is "Nathan Challenges David"

Key Verse:  2 Samuel 11:27--12:1

Focus of the Lesson: Some commitments we make involve people who have no part in agreeing to the decision. How do we consider how our commitments affect everyone involved? Nathan's commitment to God led him to confront King David.

The reading is 2 Samuel 12:1-7, 13-15. This text is from the New International Version. (NIV)

Background Scripture:  2 Samuel 12:1-15 

   ²⁷After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. ¹The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ²The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

   ⁴"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."

   ⁵David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ⁶He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."

   ⁷Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

   ¹³Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."
Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. ¹⁴But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

   ¹⁵After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

NIV